Cradle Us All
by waffleconecake
Summary: So this is a fanfic I decided I would try and put together. No promises that this will have an end, if a proper one at all really. Just going to say now, any "miss spellings" or "grammatical errors" in the conversations and thoughts of characters are intentional. It is to make them seem more like individuals with there own way of speaking. Edit: feel free to post any thing.


I could hear the sounds of machinery grinding away as I picked out my starting out fit before I launched to this strange new planet the skylark supposedly crash landed on. I decide to go with purple as my "personal" color. I always have and always will adore the color purple. Now for my armor itself, I decided to go with the dusky style. My armor of choice is the flank jacket as it is the only armor I could pick from that did not make me look like a girl paired with a spiral pith helm. I decided to put a com unit and a scanner on the helm out of hope of them in some way helping me. Sadly they are purely for show and not use. I looked odd but got over it quickly.

After my short escapade with my outfit I began to walk towards my landing pod. It was a standard issue blue and gray ball of metal with a gray and red hatch to get into the damned thing. I was early, a whole 20 minutes before my launch to "Cradle" as the maps called it. I decided to get in early. After opening the hatch I climbed into the small black leather chair and lounged back a bit and tried to fall asleep. Sadly this was not the most comfortable seat in the world with all the straps I had to put on. Sure, the straps were needed to keep me from getting my neck broken during the fall to the surface but they were not at all comfortable to be put in.

I looked to my left and saw a , light blue button. On it was several capital Zs. I decided that this must be some sort of auto sleep option in case I can't get to sleep myself. I pressed down on the button and heard a humming sound from the top of the pod. A light blue mist began to fall. As soon as I got the stuff in my lungs my eye lids felt heavy and I had no other urge but to never do anything again.

I wake up to the sound of beeping and an alarm. I go straight into panic mode and look for some screen to tell me what the hell the problem is. It would seem my launch was a total failure. According to the screen I was reading my pod was **five miles **course and had caught fire. I was going down at an odd angle and could only see partly through the small window on the hatch. The view was full of fire just like the report said. "_OH joy!_" I thought to myself, "_not even on the planet yet and I'm already bloody screwed. I hope who ever the hell was under control of my launch gets his sorry rear launched without a pod._"

"30 seconds before contact with surface" rang the robotic voice of the pod. _"Whelp, if I'm going to die I want to be comfortable when doing it." _I thought to myself. So I began to unstrap myself from the stupid chair and got in an actual comfortable position.

"20 seconds before contact with surface"

"10 seconds before contact with surface"

"5…4…3…2…1"

My world was engulfed in flames. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed from both fear and pain as hit the surface. I saw the ceiling of the pod had been cracked massively from the impact. It was either divine intervention or dumb luck but the crash did not kill me. I sat there, unmoving as the flames of my pod slowly moved closer to me. I wanted to get up. I wanted to run away from this failure of a launch and to the now **13 mile **away rescue camp because of some jerk who failed my launch. But I didn't. I sat there like a stupid child hoping someone would save me. I soon pass out form the sleep powder that had somehow managed to get in the air form the crash.

"_Am I dead yet?" _ I thought. I couldn't see anything. It was all dark but I could still _feel _something, something on top of me. It was a blanket. _"Nope, not dead, very much alive."_ I was in some sort of cave judging from the wet air and coolness of it all. Who brought me here? Why did they bother to save some unlucky fellow in a fiery crash?

I tried to get up but fell back down to the somewhat cold thin mattress that I was laying on. The pain was unbearable. "Good to know you have not died." I tried to reply but all I could manage was a weak murmur.

"shhh. You are badly injured, you need to rest. Just go to sleep. I promise nothing will disturb your slumber," Said a strong deep voice. Whoever saved me is obviously male and rather strong if he was able to rescue me from a burning recharge. I soon smelled the same strange duty smell of the same blue powder that was in the pod as it filled my lungs.

It was day out when I finally woke up. The light was shinning into the cave from outside as I smelled some kind of food being cooked. It smelled kinda like bacon but was a bit sourer. "You finally gettin up?" shouted the same voice from before. It was coming from the same direction as the smell of the food. This time I was able to get up from my bed. I staggered over and soon found myself putting my hand in front of my face to block the light.

I saw a figure at least a foot taller than me in a black and white cloak and hood in front of some strange looking stove preparing what I was guessing was breakfast. _Everything_ was black and white. The sky, the ground, even the food was black and white. Panic took over me. Have I gone color blind? Or was it the suit malfunctioning? I really hope it is the suit.

The hooded figure turned to me while holding a kind of pan. My attention soon fell on the content of the pan. It had a lot of different types of meats in it all sizzling and looking over all delicious. "Go sit over at the table, I'll get you your plate," Said the hooded giant. I did as I was told and sat at the table near the cave mouth. There were 3 chairs, all damaged roughly but still working fine.

I could hear the sounds of birds chirping and rustling of grass. I looked around and we were on some sort of plateau. The ground was gray just like everything else at the moment out here. I could see a forest in the distance. How the hell did we get up here? There must be a ladder or some way through the cave unless he bloody jumped up here while carrying me. To be honest if this guy can go into a mess of metal and flame and pull me out without himself getting hurt I wouldn't be surprised if could jump 20 feet high while carrying a unconscious person.

"Breakfast is ready!" I heard him shout. He was walking over to me with 2 plates, one in each gloved hand. He set on down in front of me and one on the other side of his small square table for himself I would guess. He then walked back over to the now slightly redish brown stove with 2 glasses of what I would guess is water and a pair of forks and knives. I looked down at the white plate and could see the colors of meats more clearly. Most were a kind of red brown showing they were cooked well. I noticed there was also some kind of bread thing. It was mostly an oval but had a flat bottom to it. The curst of the bread as a light brown and looked lightly toasted.

"Don't worry; I didn't put any special seasoning on it. I don't know how you strangers would react to most of them to be honest. " said the hooded man. "What do you mean by 'strangers'? Aren't you a knight like me?" I asked him. "Hah! So you are calling your selves knights? Well to answer your question no, I'm what you would call a 'Gremlin'." He brought down his hood to reveal his face. His head was covered in brown fur and had a muzzle that was a light pink that was free of fur. I could see small fangs protruded out of his lips as he smiled at me. His ears were long, falling back mostly. They each had a gold earring on the end of them. His eyes were white with a solid red ring around his coal black pupils giving them a look of a burning planet that has been scorched black from the eternity of flames.

I was speechless. Apparently the "hostile" natives were the ones who saved my life or at least one of them. During briefing they mentioned gremlins and the strange things they built. We were also told that they were vicious killing machines themselves taking no pity on the weak and defenseless. Either this individual was an exception to this description or it was dead wrong…

He pushed my set of utensils to my side of the table and he began to cut his bread in half from the side. He then placed some of the meat in side of it and ate it like a sandwich. Even on this alien planet the best of foods still seem to exist.

I did the same as him and found the meat to be savory and the bread naturally sour. Not like the sour dough I'm use to that was in some way artificially soured but a kind of sour only made in food from the natural ingredients having the sour in them.

After I finished my meat sandwich I built up the courage to finally ask him why he saved me. "I saw burning wreckage with someone still inside it. My conscious just wouldn't let me get away with not trying to save them." The answer seemed honest. "I never got your name stranger, what you go by?" he asked me. I replied with "My name is Samualt. Samualt Johnson. What should I be calling you?" He said, "Well Samualt you can call me Red for now."

"Thanks for the breakfast Red but I really need to get going. I have to go to the rescue camp. Judging from my reading I'm about 11 miles away from it. It will probably be a 4 hour walk judging from the terrain I'll be crossing." I said to Red.

"If we are talking about the same place I could give you a map that would only take you about half a hour to get there on foot. Sadly it is much more dangerous." Red then walked back over to the cave and walked back bearing a shield in his left hand. It had to have been made out some really strong steel judging from the shine coming off it. It had a circle on it that bore a strange symbol. It looked kinda like something was biting down on a bolt. On the top right side was a smaller circle that had a small orange line going through it horizontality. In his right hand he had the cover to a green ward.

Red said "On the inside of the shield there is a map to your little camp I drew up for you. This little thing will protect you from most constructions easily and gremlins. Speaking of which most of the gremlins won't dare take a swing at you while you get this thing with yah but it never hurts to be safe. On the other hand the constructions won't care and still try something. I would recommend you avoid any unneeded fights and just focus on getting back to your camp for the time being."

I thanked him for the shield. He pointed me to a ladder to get down off the plateau. I heard him shout while I was climbing "I almost forgot, make sure to put the green ward cover over the shield before you get to the camp. I don't think any of your officials will take too kindly to you having it with you!" That worried me a bit. Could Red have just endangered me by giving me this shield instead of helping? Well I doubt he intended for me to get hurt if I do. Either way this map seems rather strange.

It said I had to go in the opposite direction the camp, head into some mine shaft and find an "elevator"? Well I'll have to trust him on this as the path he laid out on the map seems acuter to the terrain so it should be right.

After about 10 minutes of walking I could see the mine shaft I was meant to go into. Once I reached the entrance I could smell machinery and hear the sound of things grinding. I cautiously walked in and found the place was rather well light from the strange yellow gems in the wall. After about 5 minutes of walking down I find myself on a large metal loading dock. There are several gremlins working at mining while others are moving crates. They all seem rather busy at work. I look to my left and see the elevator I was meant to take and started walking to it.

A large hand grabbed my shoulder. "OIE, Fellas! I think one of those alien things wondered into our mine! What should we do with him?" I turned to see a large burly gremlin that was holding a massive crate in his arm. "Let go of me! I was told to come here by Red to take that elevator!" I shouted at him. Everyone stopped. The miners stopped mining. The ones moving crates dropped em. Even some of the constructions stopped and turned to me.

"You mean to tell me, OUR boss told YOU to come here and to use OUR elevator?" The larger gremlin said to me. "Why I have half a mind to split your skull for lyin like that to us." He sounded very angry when he said that. "I'm not lying! He even gave me this shield. It has a map to the mine from where we were on the inside of it too!" I told him. I really hope he believes me. I do not want my head split open.

He grabbed the shield off my arm and ripped off the Green Ward cover and his face quickly turned from angry to shock. He quickly ran over the where he tossed the shield cover and put it back on. "Ehheh, sorry about this here uh, complication. I honestly thought you were lyin." He turned from me and back towards the still staring workers." OiE! The lad is legit, get back to work!" he shouted at them. He hands me my shield back. "So how did yah meet Se- Red?" I explained to the large grem about how Red saved me from a failed launch.

The large brute let out a sigh. "Red has always had a soft spot for strangers. Whelp, the shield is legit so feel free to use our mine at any time. Just make sure yah got the shield with yah when you come tah visit. I would hate for ah friend to get locked up for tresspassin just caus yah forght the entry ticket."

I walk onto the strange elevator and couldn't help but feel the confusion on my face. "Come'ere. I'll show yah how to work one ah these. I assume you don't know yet do yah?" I admit that I have no clue what I'm doing as I try to turn the thing on. He scoops me up form bellow forcing me to sit in his large hand and points at the large blue button in the center. It has a down arrow on it. "This here is the 'start' button. Press it when you get yah destination set into the consol. Over 'ere are the destination options." He points to a touch screen panel with several pictures all at different levels.

One I couldn't help but notice had a depth of "?". This puzzled me but I ignored it none the less. "So where are yah headin mate?" I told him "I need to get to my rescue camp; I think it is … this one." I press on the highest picture. It had a small iron grey house on it. The icon was labeled 'Keep watch, special guests only.' He said "Had a feelin that was where yah were headin. Before you go here is mah com Frequency. Call me if yah ever need some strength. Names Mell Hastes." I respond, "Names Samualt, Samualt Johnson. Glad to have you on Call Mell." I take the paper with his com unit's frequency and pocket it; Gotta remember to add it to my contact list.

Mell walked off the elevator and waved good bye before walking back into the central mine area. I could hear him shout out orders at the grems at work. I wonder if having Mell's frequency will get me in trouble like my shield. I slam down the blue start button and here the elevator rear to life. Guard rails shoot out of the ground and the thing starts going down fast. It then moves to the left causing me to fall. I could only feel the cold metal on my now grounded face as the tunnel was pitch black. I really wish this thing had a seat.

The elevator stopped. I managed to get myself standing and I looked up to see sunlight breaking down into the cave. Then I fell on my rear. The elevator had gone full speed up. Panic my one and only consistent never leaving friend at this point returned as I had a feeling I would launch high into the sky to only die from falling too hard.

The metal death trap slows down before I reach the surface causing me to have a moment of free fall where I was traveling faster than the elevator. When I reached the top I found myself about 30 feet from the rescue camp entrance. I began to walk over to it and looked back towards the elevator to find it was replaced with a large rock. Clever, they probably don't want anyone to find it.

As I enter the camp a knight in a mostly red outfit runs up to me. He is holding a blitz needle in his left hand. "Glad to see someone made it back. Names Rhendon. I'm here to help save any knights who can't get to camp. Did you run into any trapped knights on your way over here?" I told him the truth, "No, for all I knew I was the only knight who managed to get to the camp. With how terrible my launch was I wouldn't be surprised if none of the knights will make it." Rhendon looked worried. "What do you mean by terrible launch?" "Whoever the jerkwad who was controlling my launch messed up enough to put me 5 miles off track and in a ball of burning wreckage on the landing. I only got out because of stupid luck."

Rhendon cursed. He began to talk into his com unit and walked away. I couldn't hear most of it but I did catch "Fire Harton" and "bring in allot of water".

Whelp I made it to camp alive somehow.


End file.
